


Sornehn

by NostramosRevenge



Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Gen, Night Lords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 22:58:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13351278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NostramosRevenge/pseuds/NostramosRevenge
Summary: A Night Lord finds a new meaning for himself after he abandons the dark and joins the light.





	1. Sornehn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Night Lord named Latix suddenly develops a conscience.

Latix paused. He was a menacing sight, his midnight blue armor streaked with blood and adorned with screaming faces and grisly trophies ripped from his former victims. Around him lay the glass from the window he had just broken through, into the orphanage. And in front of him, tears in her eyes, was a human child no more than 5 years old. She had curly brown hair and eyes the blue of a daylight Latix had never known. 

He walked towards the bed. The child became more frantic, beginning to cry. Latix winced at the sound, trying to convince himself it was annoying. In truth, it just felt…bad. He retracted his claws and edged closer to the bed. She was crying less, now staring into his eyes with a terrified curiosity.

Latix reached a hand out to her, to strangle this child. He wrapped a hand around her, and lifted her to his chest. Holding her, she stopped crying, but scared terrified at his helmet. Red lenses cast a menacing reflection in her watery eyes. Latix removed his helmet, clipping it to his belt. 

The child reached out with her tiny hand and grabbed Latix’s nose. He began to growl, but stopped quickly. Not quickly enough. The child’s hand darted back, her face becoming more scared. He leaned into her hand, and she ran her hand along his face. Suddenly she stopped.

Opening his eyes, he saw she pointed to some stuffed animal on the ground loosely resembling a cat. He retrieved it for her, taking satisfaction in seeing her smile. Slowly, a smile of his own crept across his face. 

That smile ended as the door opened. In stepped his warband’s leader, Noraz the Vindictive. Noraz saw him holding the child and immediately drew his bolter. “You treacherous fo-!” Latix beat him to the draw, beheading his former leader with one swing of his power sword.

The child had closed her eyes and screamed. Latix frantically escaped, the other Night Lords paying him no mind when they spotted him. None discovered Latix’s treachery until he had already left in a stolen Thunderhawk. 

Latix looked at the consoles, making sure he was not being followed. He wasn’t. He looked to the seat next to him, where the girl he sat, grinning at the stars she never thought she’d be so close to. Latix had named her Sornehn. She smudged her tiny fingers on the glass in front of her trying to grasp them to no avail. Latix chuckled and left the ship on autopilot, walking to the back of the ship.

The other 17 children he’d rescued still slept. He walked further back, and grabbed a box. He filled the box, then tossed it into the void. The box tumbled in space, eventually coming apart to reveal its contents to the empty space around it. Flayed skins and grisly trophies tumbled around while Latix returned to the cockpit, his armor unblemished by those terrible decorations. His armor had been repainted. 

It was the color of a daylight he’d never known, but soon would. On his left pauldron was a tiny yellow circle, which Sornehn had insisted had to be there. She said the sky needed a sun. Latix agreed.


	2. Adrift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Latix and the group drift in space, low on fuel and supplies.

He was drenched in blood. This small ship was full of even smaller, easy prey. Ripping another pathetic child to shreds, a wicked smile crossed his face. The last child, a small girl still holding some stuffed cat for protection, stared right at him. Walking right up to her in two steps, he swung his claw at her in a beheading strike.

Latix woke in a panic, drenched in sweat.

Wearing a robe he’d found in the Thunderhawk’s cargo, Latix could feel the chill come over him. The ship was cold, to conserve energy. Not that the children minded; they all slept peacefully, using the other robes he’d found as massive blankets. All of them slept peacefully except for one.

Sornehn was watching him. Latix’s breathing returned to normal. He was about to ask Sornehn why she was still awake when she stuck out her arms. She was offering her stuffed “cat” (it looked almost nothing like a cat) to him. Latix told her to go to sleep, then went forward to check their course.

Everything seemed in order. No pursuing ships. They were starting to run a bit low on fuel. There was no damage.  
Looking around the dash, Latix saw something on the sensors. Something massive. It dwarfed his tiny Thunderhawk. And it was just what he needed.

As space hulks went it was small, but it was huge for the amount of supplies he'd need. There was only one problem.

Somebody else had beaten him to it.


	3. Hulk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Latix explores the space hulk while trying to avoid any other looters.

Latix was picking up vox signals from within the wreckage. There were two signals and no ships nearby bedecked in livery to confirm who was there. Latix knew there was ultimately only one way to find out and hoped that wouldn't be necessary. If all went well, he would gather all the supplies he needed and get out of there before he could be spotted.

Latix prepared his vox unit to send signals to the Thunderhawk in small bursts and programmed the Thunderhawk to do the same. That should decrease any ability to trace them.

This done, he set off into the hulk with a list of parts and supplies he needed. Surprisingly, most of the hulk appeared to still have a breathable atmosphere in it. Latix still wore his helmet though, just in case. Flipping the list over, he saw that several unauthorized additions had been made. Where exactly they expected him to find crayons aboard a space hulk was beyond him. There were plenty of supplies and Latix soon found a decent portion of those he'd needed. No crayons were to be found.

Walking back to the ship, Latix sent a signal to the thunderhawk stating that he was on his way back to drop off supplies and ask if any of them had spotted the radio signals again. They said no signals were sent since they'd gotten there. Then the click of a bolter sounded behind him.

Hands up, Latix slowly turned around and was face to face with a space marine wearing black and silver armor. His right pauldron was checkered with a heart upon it. The marine held a bolt pistol right to Latix's face. He also held a staff in the other hand, perhaps some form of librarian.

The marine asked, "What chapter do you represent?"

Latix was very confused, then suddenly remembered how he must look. A sky blue astartes with a small sun on his shoulder; not a chapter anybody would have known.

Latix paused for a long second and then replied.

"None. I have no chapter."

The marine tensed but seemed to think he posed no threat. The marine began asking Latix questions about who he was and why he was here. The second Latix mentioned Night Lord, the marine raised his bolter right to Latix's face. Latix told him about Sornehn and the others, but the marine didn't seem to believe him. He had the marine tune to his vox channel, which convinced him enough to have them check his ship to see if it was true. Latix made sure to warn the children that a new marine would be with him. Upon seeing the children, the marine relaxed noticeably.

He spoke at great length with Latix again, and Latix finally asked who they were and why they were here. The marine took off his helmet and began to explain.

"I am with the Ordo Xenos. Our ship got hit bad by tyranids and we had to make an emergency jump into the warp. The Gellar field failed about halfway through the journey."

He pauses for a second.

"There were only two left by the time the ship left the warp. The navigator died, stranding us. We left the ship onto this hulk and have been here since then."

The marine offers his hand to Latix, clasping wrists in a warrior's handshake.

"I am Mornal of the Lamenters. It is good to see another warrior again."

Latix cautiously asked what he meant by that. When Mornal replied that his vox channels were naught but static and he had lost contact with Do'val 7 days ago, Latix felt a pounding in his hearts. The signals he'd detected were not Mornal's. He knew of only one source that would make sense.

Night Lords.

Latix drew his sword and told Mornal to be on guard, as enemies must be nearby. He sent a vox message to the Thunderhawk talking whichever child was listening through the process of locking down the ship. Just in case.

Latix and Mornal began cautiously walking through the hulk towards the sources of the vox signals. There was a great deal of fuel stored in this particular hallway in large canisters. Mornal and Latix cautiously looked around the canisters to be sure no ambush would come. They forgot to check the ceiling where 5 raptors hid.

They swooped down as one, crying out. Mornal and Latix opened fire as one, shooting two down immediately. Mornal dispatched another with a psychic blast as Latix engaged the other two with his sword. Mornal simply shot both in the back and the two continued traveling.

At the end of the hallway was a marine in black and silver armor, his pauldron bearing the insignia of the Salamanders. He bore the mark and narthecium of an apothecary. The marine was crucified onto the wall behind him, a pool of blood on the floor.

Mornal rushed over to the marine, freeing him from his torture.

"Do'val, speak to me!" he roared.

Do'val weakly raised his head and told Mornal, "It's a trap. They're after the Thunderhawk."

Do'val then passed out, the blood loss too much for him to handle. Mornal took some of Do'val's medical supplies and stabilized him, then Mornal and Latix took off at a sprint back to the Thunderhawk. Arriving in the hangar, they saw 6 Night Lords approaching the Thunderhawk.

Latix and Mornal jumped into action, gunning down a pair of the Night Lords before they closed into melee range. Five engaged Latix and Mornal at the order of the sixth, who continued his approach to the Thunderhawk.

Latix dodged a swipe of lightning claws, grabbing the attacker's arm and plunging his claws into another Night Lord's throat while beheading the first with a swing of his sword. Mornal had already killed one Night Lord and was shooting a second in the face point blank. The last one left in the melee swung his claws in a wide arc at Latix. Latix stepped in and blocked the swipe with one arm while punching his sword through the marine's chest. The Night Lord collapsed to the ground in a bloody mess.

The last Night Lord was cutting his way into the Thunderhawk with his claws. Throwing aside the metal he'd carved out of the ship, he raised his claws to begin slaughtering the children inside. Latix hurled his sword at the marine's back, stabbing him through his primary heart. The Night Lord slowly lowered his claws and turned around. As the Night Lord ran his hand along the blade in shock, Mornal shot a bolt round into his head, killing him.

All of the Night Lords dead, Latix checked on the kids while Mornal retrieved Do'val, who was stitching up the last of his wounds. After being caught up on Latix's identity, Do'val told them of a Warhawk class Stormbird he'd spotted during his capture. Latix remarked that he hadn't seen one of them for centuries. The others then asked him what year it was.

"With such a chaotic journey through the warp, we're not exactly sure how long the journey took in realspace."

Latix gave the year, and both marines looked uneasy.

"400 years, Do'val. They must believe us dead by now."

Do'val agreed, stating that in all likelihood their names were no longer remembered. Latix looked at them both and told them they could join him and fight for the humans of the Imperium. They agreed to continue to serve humanity, happy to leave behind the Inquisition. They loaded up the Stormbird with their supplies and set off.

Privately, Latix wondered just what the Night Lords had wanted with that space hulk. Were they after him? Would these children ever be safe with him near them? He thought about how close they had come to being slaughtered like animals.

As Sornehn opened the crate of crayons that had for some reason been inside a civilian transport caught in the hulk, Latix decided the safest place for them to be was with him there to protect them. Just in case. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sornehn is Nostraman for Light of Hope.


End file.
